Skydance will remain disciplined regarding future sports rights; Sinclair president/CEO Chris Ripley discusses the SBA’s antitrust provision; and Dianna Russini is returning to sports media. Plus news on Gray Media, Ligue 1, Space City Home Network and SiriusXM.
Skydance will remain disciplined regarding future sports rights
Skydance chairman/CEO David Ellison said on the company’s earnings call Monday that the newly combined company is “really happy with” its current portfolio, which consists of rights acquired by both CBS and TNT Sports. “Suffice to say, we believe in sports,” Ellison said, “and we’ll continue to be a significant player and leader in the space.”
Echoing the usual comments made by network executives about live sports, Ellison said Skydance will remain disciplined in pursuing sports rights and that it evaluates various factors — such as audience size, advertising, distribution and scheduling — in its decision-making. Prior to then-Paramount acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, Ellison said in August that the company should be viewed “as a buyer of sports rights.”
Ellison did not address whether Skydance is back in negotiations with the NFL, which were paused as it dealt with a lawsuit seeking to block the Paramount-WBD merger. RedBird Capital founder and Skydance board director Gerry Cardinale said at a Bloomberg event last month that it would be better for CBS to negotiate with the NFL “in a few years when the contract comes up.” Ellison said in an interview with CNBC after the merger that the NFL remains an investor in Skydance and that the company expects to remain in business with the league “for the foreseeable future.” The league reportedly holds a change-in-control provision it can activate two years from the close of the original Skydance-Paramount merger.
In other news, Skydance revealed that it will offer the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming services as part of a bundle next year. The company plans to achieve at least $6 billion in ‘synergies’ within three years of the Paramount-WBD merger by consolidating corporate functions, refining marketing spend and altering its technologies. Some sports executives are departing the company, reportedly including CBS’ Harold Bryant and TNT’s Nate Smeltz. The company had $87 billion in gross debt following the WBD deal closing and “approximately $10 billion” in cash.
Ripley: Lawmakers see SBA antitrust exemption applying to broadcast TV only
On an earnings call last week, Sinclair president/CEO Chris Ripley said that unnamed lawmakers see the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 as applying only to broadcast television. Ripley: “It just reinforces that from a rules-of-the-road perspective, these major sports are supposed to be engaging with broadcast on a collective basis, and it’s better for their business, it’s better for the consumer. There is a fundamental sort of access to content point when it comes to sports that, I think is, very much hits home with lawmakers, and that is why the law is drafted the way it is.”
Sinclair, one of the largest owners of over-the-air stations in the country, was one of the companies to submit a public comment to the FCC in March examining the applicability of the SBA to sports on streaming services. The company said in its comment that “local broadcast journalism will suffer” without the presence of “high-value live sports on broadcast television” and that the SBA antitrust exemption applied only to “free, over-the-air broadcast television.”
The issue of sports rights drifting to streaming services, particularly those of the NFL, has been of concern to local station owners like Sinclair and Nexstar — and to companies like Fox, which has only recently made a push into streaming content. Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch reportedly met with the White House this year to express his concerns, and the U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly investigating the NFL’s rights deals with streaming companies
Sinclair has a vested interest in the fate of sports on broadcast television by virtue of its station ownership, and that interest could grow larger in the coming years. The FCC voted on party lines this year to remove the broadcast ownership cap on local stations, potentially opening the door for it to acquire more affiliates.
Russini returning to sports media with digital show, podcast
NFL insider Dianna Russini is returning to sports media with a new digital show from BetUS TV titled “The Russini Report.” The live program will air on Wednesdays starting this week and include discussion and analysis on the National Football League in addition to guest interviews. In an interview with Janelle Griffith of People, Russini said she will share her opinions on the show, which she claims she “wasn’t really allowed to do before.” Russini will also write a column for BetUS.
Russini resigned from The Athletic earlier this year after the New York Post-owned “Page Six” published photographs of her with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel at an Arizona resort. Numerous follow-up stories with additional photographs followed, and The Athletic conducted a review into her reporting that found she “was noncompliant” regarding standards at the publication. In a statement to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, Russini stood “by any and all reporting I’ve ever done in my career.”
Outside of her work with BetUS, Russini will also appear on the “Nobody’s Safe” podcast alongside host Jon “Stugotz” Weiner as a featured contributor. Russini told Griffith that she is “energized” and “not scared to get back in because I know the people that I cover are welcoming me back with open arms.” Russini also commented on the news cycle, referencing lies that “became so out of control” and characterizing it as a “runaway train.” The story did not address the validity of specific reports.
Prior to her work with The Athletic, Russini was a reporter on ESPN where she contributed to shows such as “Sunday NFL Countdown” and “NFL Live.” Russini preceded her national work with stints at local outlets, among them NBC New York, CSN Northwest and News 12.
Plus: Gray Media, Ligue 1, Space City Home Network, SiriusXM
- Gray Media president/co-CEO Pat LaPlatney said on a recent earnings call that only “a small percentage” of its local sports rights deals are for multiple years. Gray reached local deals this offseason to air select games for the NBA Cavaliers, Hornets and Magic (all streaming on DAZN), along with the NHL Blues. “[S]ome of the leagues are working on some broader national deals that will impact local deals, so that’s the primary reason,” he said, obviously alluding to the NBA’s plans to launch a centralized streaming hub next season. There are some exceptions, he noted, “so it’s a mixed bag, but most of them are short term.” This past spring, Gray Media extended its deal with the Phoenix Suns and Mercury through 2030 to continue airing on Arizona’s Family.
- The Walt Disney Company and Skydance Corporation are reportedly “considering bids” for “French football rights” to Ligue 1, according to a report by David Hellier, Hannah Miller and Benoit Berthelot of Bloomberg. beIN SPORTS currently broadcasts Ligue 1 games in the United States and “is also expected to consider an offer, as are a number of other potential groups,” per the report.
- Space City Home Network has named Ashley Stroehlein as its new sideline reporter for Houston Rockets broadcasts, joining a television announcing team that includes play-by-play voice Craig Ackerman and analyst Ryan Hollins. Stroehlein has experience working on ESPN college football coverage as a host/reporter, along with sideline reporting on broadcasts of Charlotte Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves basketball. Stroehlein succeeds Vanessa Richardson in the role, who recently started working for ESPN on a full-time basis.
- SiriusXM has announced that Anjali Sud will be its new CEO beginning next January, succeeding Jennifer Witz in the role after she decided to step down from the job. Sud, who was the CEO of Tubi for portions of the last three years, recently exited Fox Corporation after the company completed its acquisition of Roku last week. Sud has also been an independent director within the SiriusXM Board of Directors since last March and said in a statement that “[p]remium audio experiences will be more important than ever to the future of entertainment.”
